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MPs pay tribute to Jo Cox's 'humanity, compassion and irrepressible spirit' | MPs pay tribute to Jo Cox's 'humanity, compassion and irrepressible spirit' |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Politicians of all stripes came wearing white roses, a symbol of the Labour MP’s beloved Yorkshire. Many too wore the purples, greens and whites that were the colours of the suffragettes to mark Jo Cox’s feminism, just as guests had dressed for her wedding. | |
With her husband, Brendan, and two young children watching from the gallery of the Commons, Westminster spent an hour remembering the MP for Batley and Spen who had been killed in broad daylight last week. In a chamber famed for its noise, the tributes were delivered largely in silence – and many of those speaking and listening found themselves moved to tears. | |
Rachel Reeves, a close friend of Cox’s and a Labour colleague, finished her speech by breaking down and crumpling into her seat. She spoke poignantly of a moment less than 24 hours after Cox’s death when she was approached by a woman – a stranger – at a cafe in the Batley and Spen constituency. | |
“A woman came over to me and said she hadn’t known Jo but that her death had made her want to be a bit more like her,” said Reeves. “A better person, a better mother, a better daughter, a better wife.” And that, it seems, was how Cox made everyone around her feel. | |
Jeremy Corbyn said the death of his colleague should mark the start of a “kinder and gentler politics”, arguing that all politicians had a duty “not to whip up hatred” in the wake of her murder. The Labour leader argued that Cox had been killed in what appeared to be an act of “extreme political violence”. | |
“Jo Cox didn’t just believe in loving her neighbour but her neighbour’s neighbour. She saw a world of neighbours and believed that everyone counted equally,” said Corbyn. | |
The party leader praised the MP for speaking out for refugees, for the Palestinian people and against Islamophobia. “Her integrity and talent was known to everyone in this house,” he said, as it emerged that Cox’s own constituency and Commons staff had returned to the office to carry on her casework, despite some of them witnessing last week’s atrocity. | |
Corbyn was followed by David Cameron, who told MPs that her boundless energy had “lit up the lives of all who knew her and saved the lives of many she never met”. | |
“She was a humanitarian to her core, a passionate and brilliant campaigner whose grit and determination saw her time and time again driving issues up the agenda and making people listen and act,” he said, watched by MPs wearing the white rose of Yorkshire on their lapels. | |
The prime minister drew attention to her work raising awareness of conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, exposing “the despicable practice of rape in war”, reducing mortality in childbirth and supporting refugees fleeing war-torn Syria. “There are people on our planet today who are only here and alive because of Jo,” he said, calling her a committed democrat and passionate feminist. | |
Cameron quoted Labour MP Alison McGovern, a close friend of Cox’s, who said “Jo – we mourn your loss, yet know that all you stood for is unbreakable. We promise to stand up, even though we are broken. We promise that we will never be cowed by hate.” | |
When she spoke, McGovern told the house: “When Jo spoke, we all listened.” McGovern called for Cox’s own words to ring out in her memory. The phrase “more in common” has been placed at the heart of the attempt to build a legacy for the MP by her closest friends and family, which will begin this week. | |
Parliamentarians of all sides listened to each other too, where they heard warm descriptions of Cox’s humour and sense of fun from friends on the Labour and Conservative side. | |
Andrew Mitchell, a Conservative former chief whip, spoke of their united work on the issue of conflict in Syria, saying that Cox wouldn’t have wanted the “vile and unspeakable” act to stop the open relationship that MPs have with constituents. | |
Stephen Kinnock, who shared an office with Cox, commented on the political context of the killing, which came after Nigel Farage unveiled a poster that had the words “breaking point” over a picture of fleeing refugees. | |
“I can only imagine Jo’s reaction had she seen the poster unveiled hours before her death. A poster on the streets of Britain that demonised hundreds of desperate refugees including hungry, terrified children fleeing from the terror of Isis and Russian bombs,” he said. | “I can only imagine Jo’s reaction had she seen the poster unveiled hours before her death. A poster on the streets of Britain that demonised hundreds of desperate refugees including hungry, terrified children fleeing from the terror of Isis and Russian bombs,” he said. |
“She would have responded with outrage and a robust rejection of the calculated narrative of cynicism, division and despair that it represents. Jo understood that rhetoric has consequences.” | “She would have responded with outrage and a robust rejection of the calculated narrative of cynicism, division and despair that it represents. Jo understood that rhetoric has consequences.” |
Others spoke of Cox’s passion for women’s rights. Harriet Harman, who has been at the forefront of that movement inside the Labour party, reminded colleagues that the MP had first chaired the Labour Women’s Network. | |
“So many Labour women in this chamber and who are so deeply mourning her loss were women she helped,” said Harman, talking about Cox arriving for a meeting once with her baby son. “I remember it because she literally didn’t stop kissing him all the way through the meeting.” | |
Harman said there was “no dividing line” between Cox’s maternal and political heart. “Her children will grow up to know what an amazing woman their mother was.” | |
The tributes poured in after an introduction by the Speaker, John Bercow, who said Cox was someone who “was determined to live life to the full”. He said the attack had struck “not only at an individual, but at our freedom”. | The tributes poured in after an introduction by the Speaker, John Bercow, who said Cox was someone who “was determined to live life to the full”. He said the attack had struck “not only at an individual, but at our freedom”. |
MPs also heard Corbyn, Cameron and others quote the maiden speech delivered by Cox in that same chamber. | |
“While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us,” she said. | |
On Wednesday, the day that should have marked Cox’s 42nd birthday, there will be a global celebration of her life and values that will call for people to unite against hatred and division. | |
Close to £1m has been raised for three charities dedicated to causes that were close to Cox’s heart: the Royal Voluntary Service, which supports people suffering from loneliness; Hope not Hate, which challenges extremism; and the White Helmets, which supports rescue workers in Syria. | |
Reeves added: “It is ironic that after travelling the world to some of the most damaged, war-ravaged places, Jo died so near to her home. But she died doing the job that she loved, in the place that she loved, representing the people she loved,” said Reeves, who said it fell on parliament’s shoulders to carry on her work. | |
‘More in common’ | ‘More in common’ |
Cox’s friend Alison McGovern said that when Cox spoke, people listened. She joined Corbyn and Cameron in quoting from the maiden speech delivered by Cox when she arrived in parliament. “While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us,” Cox had said. | Cox’s friend Alison McGovern said that when Cox spoke, people listened. She joined Corbyn and Cameron in quoting from the maiden speech delivered by Cox when she arrived in parliament. “While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us,” Cox had said. |
The phrase “more in common” has been placed at the heart of attempts by friends and family to build a legacy for the MP. | The phrase “more in common” has been placed at the heart of attempts by friends and family to build a legacy for the MP. |
Holly Lynch, the MP for Halifax, near Cox’s constituency, said Cox was the “very best of us”. | Holly Lynch, the MP for Halifax, near Cox’s constituency, said Cox was the “very best of us”. |
“She may well have been small but in politics as in life she packed a punch beyond measure,” Lynch told the house. “She had a clarity about what she was here to achieve and was not going to waste any time getting on with it.” | “She may well have been small but in politics as in life she packed a punch beyond measure,” Lynch told the house. “She had a clarity about what she was here to achieve and was not going to waste any time getting on with it.” |
She called Cox a “daughter of Yorkshire” who fought tirelessly for those who put their faith in her. “I will remember Jo in the voting lobbies in her cycling gear and trainers leaving us all to wonder where did she find the energy. I will remember her warmth, spirit and her laugh.” | She called Cox a “daughter of Yorkshire” who fought tirelessly for those who put their faith in her. “I will remember Jo in the voting lobbies in her cycling gear and trainers leaving us all to wonder where did she find the energy. I will remember her warmth, spirit and her laugh.” |
Earlier, at a meeting convened by the leader of the House of Commons, Chris Grayling, and the home secretary, Theresa May, MPs warned of cases of stalkers and harassment and called for better security as they carried out their jobs. | Earlier, at a meeting convened by the leader of the House of Commons, Chris Grayling, and the home secretary, Theresa May, MPs warned of cases of stalkers and harassment and called for better security as they carried out their jobs. |
A source said there was recognition of a need for a greater coordination between house authorities and the police, and for improvements to the “cumbersome and slow implementation” of a parliamentary system through which MPs could apply for security measures. | A source said there was recognition of a need for a greater coordination between house authorities and the police, and for improvements to the “cumbersome and slow implementation” of a parliamentary system through which MPs could apply for security measures. |